A kangaroo on the loose near Montreal last week provided a welcome distraction from the usual daily news. It may also have been a political omen.

In one of those uniquely Quebec quirks, separatists in this province are divided into two categories that carry animal nicknames: caribou and kangaroos.

Caribou are separatists who would insist on taking the leap, irrespective of the potential dire consequences. It’s a reference born of a wildlife tragedy on the Caniapiscau River in 1984, when some 10,000 of these magnificent beasts drowned while attempting their seasonal crossing in perilously high waters.

The kangaroos? Those are the separatists who hide their option in their pocket.

Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is a caribou, or at least he has been until recently, it seems.

For a long while PSPP made it clear he was going to take the leap come hell or high water on his promise to hold a sovereignty referendum in his first mandate if the PQ forms the next government.

The problem, however, is that polls continue to indicate nearly 70 per cent of Quebecers want nothing to do with a referendum........

© Montreal Gazette